1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tracked vehicle comprising a hull and a driven track suspension on each of two side walls. The track suspension comprises an idler wheel, road wheels with lugs, return rollers and a drive wheel that is meshed with the track. The track suspension and the hull are connected by means of vibration-damping materials.
2. Background Information
A problem experienced with military tracked vehicles is that vibrations that are essentially generated in the track and components of the track suspension can be transferred via the track support on the frame to the rest of the vehicle and thus to the crew inside the hull.
These vibrations and oscillations not only adversely affect the performance of the crew, but also reduce the effectiveness of all of the installed observational or optical and electronic equipment. The vibrations and oscillations may also require the use of additional construction measures to protect the equipment against vibration and shock.
An additional disadvantage is the loud running noise which facilitates auditory detection of a tracked vehicle.
To prevent and dampen vibration, German Patent No. 37 25 920 C2 discloses the use of a decoupled track suspension that is attached to the hull by means of a permanently elastic material.
German Patent No. 41 23 778 C2 further discloses a tracked vehicle in which the two halves of the track suspension are attached on the left and right sidewalls of the vehicle frame by means of a vibration damping material, and the two track supports are connected to one another by means of diagonal ties and struts.
A problem with known configurations is to connect the final drives with the engine located in the front or rear of the vehicle to the track wheels and to decouple the final drives from the vehicle hull, in which the final drives are mounted.